Numerous electronic payment systems are currently being developed to accommodate the growth in electronic commerce. One method of electronic payment is described in my U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,453,601, 5,557,518, and U.S. Ser. No. 08/427,287 filed Apr. 21, 1995, pending, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. These patents and the pending application disclose an electronic monetary system for implementing electronic money payments as an alternative medium of exchange to cash, checks, credit cards, debit cards, and electronic funds transfers. In particular, the described system uses money modules packaged in tamper-proof housings to store and transfer electronic notes. Money module payments may be either real-time, off-line payments between money modules (e.g., between a money module contained within a customer's "electronic wallet" and a money module contained within a merchant's point-of-sale terminal), or on-line payments for network services such as information retrieval and telephone calls, or for purchasing airline tickets, theater tickets, etc.
The trusted agents discussed herein are fully described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,518. That patent describes a system for enabling the secure delivery of electronic merchandise with real-time anonymous payment or authorization-based payment. The system allows both the customer and merchant to feel secure that their interests are being served.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,280 describes a system where a customer trusted agent provides remittance information to a merchant trusted agent which then provides a commercial payment ticket to the customer trusted agent. Receipt of the commercial payment ticket initiates a transfer of electronic money from the customer to the merchant. Such a system thus describes a payment made at the customer's convenience after receipt of an invoice. Payment is made electronically with proof of payment which can close out the receivable and payable in real time.
The present invention describes a system that enables a merchant to securely present invoices or past due notices to a customer over an open network like the internet. Furthermore, the present invention enables a customer to pay in real time upon presentment. Conventional back office payment systems may be greatly simplified by the present invention resulting in lower costs and fewer errors. Enabling immediate payment will allow the merchant to reduce the cost of funds and the resources to track outstanding balances. Merchants, in turn, will be able to more readily provide a discount to customers to incent immediate payment. For invoices that are past due, the present invention enables the merchant to close out the past due receivables without the laborious tracking and telephoning required today, thereby reducing the cost of collections.